WOOD TURTLE (Glyptemys insculpta)

Wood turtle, photo credit: Mike Jones, Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife The wood turtle sports a brown, sculpted carapace (top shell) with large pyramid shaped scutes (the individual scales covering the shell). The head and neck are brown, yellow, or bright orange, and parts of the face, tail, and limbs may also be orange. Adult wood turtles are typically 7 to 9 inches (14 to 20 cm) in length. The plastron (lower shell) is typically yellow with rectangular black markings that fade over time. There is a large V-shaped notch below the base of the tail.

In the U.S., the wood turtle range includes Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and West Virginia (Figure 1). Their original native range extended as far south as Tennessee and Georgia during the last glacial advance, based on fossil evidence (Ernst and Lovich 2009). In Maryland, their range is west of the Fall Line, through the Piedmont and into Western Maryland which includes Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, Carroll, Howard, Frederick, Montgomery, Washington, Allegany and Garrett Counties. Wood turtles have been found infrequently in Prince Georges and Charles Counties.

The wood turtle is considered an at-risk species that has been petitioned for Federal listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Threats include: habitat loss and fragmentation, road mortality, mortality from agricultural machinery, predators (including raccoons and opossum), poaching for pet trade, invasive plants in nesting habitat, degraded water quality, and emerging diseases like ranavirus. Figure 1. Wood turtle range, NatureServe

Wood turtles are designated as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) in the State Wildlife Action Plans of all 17 states in which they occur and are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Additionally, wood turtles are state-endangered in Iowa and state-threatened in Minnesota, New Jersey, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

This species was petitioned for Federal listing status as Threatened in 2012 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) made a 90-day substantial finding in 2015 (USFWS 2015), stating there is “substantial information indicating that the petitioned listing may be warranted,” and the wood turtle is scheduled for a listing determination in fiscal year 2023 (USFWS 2016). The listing decision was scheduled for 2023 to enable the Service, states, and partners such as NRCS to implement conservation actions to try to preclude the need to list the species. Wood turtles are currently a species included in the NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife Northeast Turtle Initiative, which includes states from Maine to New York. An assessment will be made by the Service to see how well the program is working to achieve conservation in the northeast states. If it is effective, the Service will work with other states in the range to implement NRCS programs and conservation practices.

LIFE HISTORY In spring, wood turtles emerge from their aquatic habitat and congregate in small masses along streambanks and uplands to mate and feed. At this time, turtles are highly concentrated and more vulnerable to predation, fire, disease, and poaching. Turtles have a second mating period in the fall. Females may mate with multiple males and delay fertilization, often producing mixed paternity nestlings. Nesting occurs from spring to summer, with nests of 3 to 20 eggs laid in soft soil.

Neonatal turtles may not emerge from their nest during the year in which they hatch (Parren and Rice 2004), but most do between mid-August and early-October, and follow the path of least resistance to the nearest running water. Water provides protection, but the highest mortality rates for wood turtles occur from the egg to sub-adult stages. Sexual maturity is reached between 12 and 18 years. Adults have a roughly 90 percent or better annual survival rate in sustainable populations. Adults may live beyond 70 years in the wild and may continue to breed past the age of 45 (Ernst and Lovich 2009).

Wood turtles eat vegetation (both aquatic and terrestrial), mushrooms, invertebrates, carrion, and other food sources. The turtles may have diapause periods during the hottest months in the southern part of its range, returning to cool waters. Active during the fall, cooler temperatures will drive them back to the streams to brumate under cut banks, debris, rock piles, and other instream features from October through March (depending on seasonality and location within the range). Turtles may be active during brief periods throughout the winter and have been seen moving slowly down presumably warmer stream channels when surface air temperatures were low, but unseasonably mild.

HABITAT Wood turtles are primarily found near forested streams, in which they hibernate during the winter. They prefer streams with sand, gravel, or rocky bottoms, as opposed to mud and silt (Ernst and Lovich 2009). Semi-aquatic turtles, they will readily leave the water and move to open grasslands, barrens, and sandy shores for nesting and foraging, particularly during the spring.

Loose, sandy soils are often preferred for nesting. This can make disturbed areas, including construction sites, road berms, bridge embankments, dirt roads and utility right of ways, a primary resource for gravid females. Wood turtles require well-oxygenated, clean water streams for their health and for the abundance of in-stream prey (Kleopfer et al. 2014).

CONSERVATION OF WOOD TURTLE The Northeast Wood Turtle Working Group developed a document entitled, “Conservation Plan for the Wood Turtle in the Northeastern United States,” (Jones et al. 2018) which provides a spatial framework and management outline for the prioritization and conservation of regionally important wood turtle streams and associated upland riparian areas, upland landscapes, and corridors.

The Department of Defense (DoD), Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) network, and the Service also developed Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the wood turtle on DoD lands (DoD PARC 2019). These management practices are also suitable off DoD installations.

MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES Land Protection Land protection is one of the highest priority needs for turtles that utilize a variety of habitats such as the wood turtle. Habitat fragmentation results in isolation of populations, therefore, protection of the most important sites where management activities can be implemented and adult mortality minimized (roads, agriculture, poaching) is important in maintaining viable populations throughout the species range.

Illegal Collection While illegal collection of turtle species has risen in the past several years in response to intensifying demand from both domestic and international markets. Wildlife and conservation professionals can support a set of priority actions for establishing a united front against criminals to protect wild North American turtles. These include: coordinated state regulations; additional resources for wildlife law enforcement to prevent illegal collection and trafficking; public outreach to communicate the severity and scale of the crisis to eliminate national and international demand for wild-collected turtles; increase resources for emergency housing and care of confiscated turtles; and science-based planning to guide housing, care, and management outcomes for confiscated turtles. Nesting Habitat Wood turtles require open, well-drained, elevated, and exposed areas of sand and/or gravel for nesting. These conditions occur naturally in the form of sand/gravel bars, beaches, and cutbanks. Wood turtles also make use of anthropogenic features for nesting such as gravel pits, boat ramps, powerline corridors, and roadsides.

Guidelines for managing nesting habitat: • Survey and map natural streamside nesting areas using ground surveys and aerial photographs. • Manage natural streamside nesting habitat by clearing vegetation during the inactive season. • If natural streamside nesting features are not available, evaluate existing anthropogenic nesting habitat and protect, manage, and/or augment as necessary. Create nesting habitat during winter.

Creating nesting habitat: • Clear land to expose mixed poorly-graded sand and gravel, or build mound(s) of sand in open areas near streams (≤200 feet). Avoid placing nesting areas near roads and, if possible, disperse nesting areas to decrease the chance of depredation. • Suggested dimensions for nesting mounds: 60 feet long x 25 feet wide x 5 feet tall (NWTWG 2017)

Agricultural Land Agricultural land can be attractive and beneficial for wood turtles if properly managed. Unfortunately, agricultural machinery can also kill wood turtles and harm local populations.

Guidelines for managing agricultural land: • Establish unfragmented and unmanaged riparian/upland buffers of ≥300 feet around all wood turtle streams and buffers of ≥1,000 feet around regionally significant streams. Regionally significant streams are streams identified as critical to wood turtle conservation in the Northeast (Jones et al. 2018). Contact your state wildlife agency if you are uncertain about the status of a stream. • Manage fields during the inactive period: November 1 through March 31. If warm season management is necessary, leave unmanaged buffers >35 feet at the streamside edge of fields and maintain them during winter. • Use crop varieties that can be harvested in October after the turtles’ active season. • Implement grazing or off-season burning. Exclude livestock from the riparian corridor. • Use sickle bar mowers and raise blade height >6 inches when possible. • Conduct systematic surveys to identify heavily used turtle areas (e.g., early summer nesting congregations in fields) and treat them as extremely sensitive areas.

Forest Management Forest management activities have the potential to both kill wood turtles and degrade habitat. However, if applied carefully, timber harvesting can be compatible with wood turtle habitat conservation and enhancement.

Guidelines for managing forests: • Restrict all logging operations within 300 feet of wood turtle streams during the active period: April through October. • Minimize harvests within 300 feet of all wood turtle streams and within 1,000 feet of regionally significant streams. Regionally significant streams are streams identified as critical to wood turtle conservation in the Northeast (Jones et al. 2018). Contact your state wildlife agency if you are uncertain about the status of a stream. • If early-successional habitats are completely absent, small group selection cuts created during the inactive period may enhance habitat. • Discontinue logging road use after harvests are complete.

Minimizing Road Mortalities Road mortalities are one of the major factors contributing to the decline of wood turtles. Roads that run parallel to wood turtle streams, especially within 300 feet, are particularly harmful for nearby populations. The most effective way to protect wood turtles is to restrict the construction of new roads near important habitat. In some cases, turtle-proof fencing and/or signage may deter mortality.

Guidelines for minimizing road mortalities: • Prohibit road construction within 300 feet of all wood turtle streams and where feasible within 1,000 feet of regionally significant streams. Regionally significant streams are streams identified as critical to wood turtle conservation in the Northeast (Jones et al. 2018). Contact your state wildlife agency if you are uncertain about the status of a stream. • Culverts and crossings should be avoided whenever possible near wood turtle streams. • If a road crossing is necessary, it is critical that: - The culvert or bridge allows turtles to pass below (e.g., is not perched or undersized). - Culverts that restrict or limit the under road passage of wood turtles should be upgraded to full-span bridges. - The road surfaces and side slopes are not attractive to wood turtles (avoid creating nesting or early-successional habitat). • Minimize road construction up to 3.5 miles from regionally significant streams. Regionally significant streams are streams identified as critical to wood turtle conservation in the Northeast (Jones et al. 2018). Contact your state wildlife agency if you are uncertain about the status of a stream.

LITERATURE CITED

Department of Defense Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. 2019. Recommended Best Management Practices for the Wood Turtle on Department of Defense Installations.

Ernst, C.H., and J.E. Lovich. 2009. Turtles of United States and Canada. John Hopkins University Press, USA. Jones, M.T., H.P. Roberts, and L.L. Willey. 2018. Conservation Plan for the Wood Turtle in the Northeastern United States. Report to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 259 pp. Kleopfer, J.D., T.S.B. Akre, S.H. Watson, and R. Boettcher. 2014. A Guide to the Turtles of Virginia. Bureau of Wildlife Resources Special Publication Number 4. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Richmond, VA. 44 pp.

NatureServe. 2019. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. Available from: http://explorer.natureserve.org

Northeast Wood Turtle Working Group (NWTWG). 2017. A Guide for Habitat Management for Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta). 32 pp

Parren, S.G. and M.A. Rice. 2004. Terrestrial overwintering of hatchling turtles in Vermont nests. Northeastern Naturalist 11:229-233. USFWS. 2015. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants: 90-day findings on 25 petitions. FR 80(181): 56423-56432.

USFWS. 2016. National Listing Workplan: 7-Year Workplan (September 2016 Version). Available from: https://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/Listing%207- Year%20Workplan%20Sept%202016.pdf